Molecular characterisation of Bartonella species in cats from São Luís, state of Maranhão, north-eastern Brazil

Abstract

Bartonella species are fastidious Gram-negative bacteria that predominantly infect mammalian erythrocytes and endothelial cells and cause long-lasting bacteraemia in their reservoir hosts (Chomel et al. 2004). Bartonellae are usually vector-borne bacteria and the vector varies depending on the bacterial species, host and reservoir (Chomel et al. 2006b).Domestic cats are the main reservoir for Bartonella henselae (the most frequent agent of cat scratch disease), Bartonella clarridgeiae (suspected in a few cases of cat scratch disease) (Chomel et al. 2004) and Bartonella koehlerae (Avidor et al. 2004).There are few reports of Bartonella infection in Brazil. A low seroprevalence of Bartonella spp has been detected among Brazilian dogs (Diniz et al. 2007a, b) and B. henselae and Bartonella vinsonii berkhoffii DNA has been detected in Brazilian dogs at a very low prevalence (Diniz et al. 2007b). Conversely, a very high prevalence of antibodies to B. henselae has been observed among free-ranging wild felids in Brazil (Filoni et al. 2006) and the parasite has been detected in wild felids by molecular techniques (Guimarães et al. 2010). Recently, a seroprevalence for Bartonella spp of 35.7% was observed among cats belonging to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibody-positive individuals . In addition, Bartonella spp have been molecularly detected in cats from the states of Rio Grande do Sul (RS) (Staggemeier et al. 2010) and Rio de Janeiro (RJ) (Souza et al. 2010, Crissiuma et al. 2011). There are few studies addressing the occurrence of Bartonella spp in humans in Brazil. Antibodies to B. henselae and Bartonella quintana have been detected in 13.7% and 12.8% of healthy residents of the state of Minas Gerais (MG), respectively (da Costa et al. 2005). A seroprevalence of Bartonella spp of 38.4% and 34.4% has been observed in HIV-positive patients and healthy human populations, respectively, in Jacarepaguá, RJ .This study aimed to detect and characterise Bartonella spp DNA from Brazilian cat blood samples from São Luís, Maranhão (MA), north-eastern Brazil. MATERIALS AND METHODSSample collection and study area -Between October 2008-January 2009, whole blood samples were collected from 200 domestic cats (102 males, 98 females) that were allowed outside in São Luís (194 cats from suburban areas of São Luís county and six from Raposa county). The study region is an invasion area that has suffered a 70% forest reduction. Cats were selected without specific inclusion criteria and were apparently healthy at the time of sample collection. Sampled cats had contact with other cats and dogs. Blood samples for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were collected from jugular or cephalic veins, immediately aliquoted into tubes containing ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) as an anticoagulant and stored at -20ºC until PCR analysis. All procedures were performed according to Ethical Principles in Animal Research adopted by the Brazilian College of Animal Experimentation and were approved by the Ethical Committee of the College of Ag...

Bartonella clarridgeiae Bacteremia Detected in an Asymptomatic Blood Donor

“…The DNA fragment of B. clarridgeiae sequenced from this blood donor was 100% similar to DNA sequences obtained from samples collected from cats in Brazil (23) and from a cat from the United States (24). Cats are considered the natural reservoir of B. clarridgeiae, being capable of sustaining high levels of bacteremia (25).…”

Molecular detection of feline arthropod-borne pathogens in cats in Cuiabá, state of Mato Grosso, central-western region of Brazil

“…Bartonella henselae DNA, obtained from a cat in São Luís, Maranhão (BRAGA et al, 2012), was used as the positive control in Bartonella PCR assays. Cytauxzoon sp.…”

“…In Brazil, the prevalences of hemoplasmas among healthy and anemic cats have been found to range from 2.1% to 38% for M. haemofelis; 4% to 13.5% for 'Candidatus M. haemominutum'; and 0.37% to 2.7% for 'Candidatus M. turicensis' (BATISTA, 2004;MACIEIRA et al, 2008;HORA, 2008;SANTOS et al, 2009;BRAGA et al, 2012;DE BORTOLI et al, 2012). DNA from Bartonella henselae and B. clarridgeiae was detected in three and one out of the 178 cats sampled (1.7%), respectively.…”

“…Recently, B. henselae DNA was detected in two out of 46 apparently healthy cats (4.3%) that were sampled in Jaboticabal, state of São Paulo (DE BORTOLI et al, 2012). In the northeastern region of the country, among 200 cats sampled in the city of São Luís, state of Maranhão, and tested for multiple genes, nine (4.5%) were positive for Bartonella sp: six cats for Bartonella henselae, and three for Bartonella clarridgeiae (BRAGA et al, 2012).…”

Bartonella spp. and hematological changes in privately owned domestic cats from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

“…Although in Brazil canine population is still bigger than cats, an increase in cat population has been noticed [12]. In Brazil, there is a wide variation in the prevalence of Bartonella spp DNA in domestic cats, ranging from 0.5% to 97.3% [13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. Hence, the aim of this study was to detect the presence of Bartonella spp.…”